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Financial:
John McCarthy receives compensation from MedBridge for this course. There is no financial interest beyond the production of this course.

Non-Financial: John McCarthy has no competing non-financial interests or relationships with regard to the content presented in this course.

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Accreditation Check:

It can be difficult to know where to start and how to plan for the future when working with children with complex communication needs. Although the range of needs and complications can be overwhelming there is a manageable set of interventions that can be delivered to match a child’s current and future needs. The interventions cover strategies for children who are not yet communicating intentionally to those who are moving into reading and writing.

Meet Your Instructor

John McCarthy is an Associate Professor and the Associate Director of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Ohio University. He teaches courses on AAC, interprofessional education, preprofessional orientation, language development, and introduction to communication disorders. His research interests include developing better computer user interfaces and expanding the creative possibilities for children and young adults with complex communication needs. Experiences as a school-based SLP, a background in voice performance, and an interest in technology have been major influences in his career. Currently he is part of Ohio's Medicaid Technical Assistance and Policy Program (MEDTAPP) Healthcare Access Initiative (HCA) to improve interprofessional education outcomes with a focus on technology tools.

Chapters & Learning Objectives

1. Responding & Prelinguistic Milieu Training

This chapter provides an overview of ways to respond when beginning intervention with a child who is at the preintentional to minimally intentional stage of communication. The chapter also covers intervention and the targets, steps and technology that may be utilized during this intervention.

2. Indirect Language Stimulation & Milieu Teaching Strategies

This chapter provides an outline of the Indirect Language Stimulation Intervention and the procedures involved. The progression of Milieu Teaching Strategies is also covered in this chapter. Each of the three strategies are listed and discussed in further detail. These strategies are useful once a child is starting to produce a few words on his or her own.

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3. Book Reading Interventions

This chapter provides a brief outline of the components of Book Reading Interventions and lists at what point of communication each intervention is appropriate. An example is provided for reference. Considerations that should be made for facilitating communication of a child’s first 100 words are also discussed in this chapter. Several strategies and tools are described throughout.

This chapter provides a brief overview of the Picture Exchange Communication System and lists several examples of additional frameworks and software for AAC. An outline of the forms of visual supports for individuals with autism spectrum disorder is also included in this chapter along with a breakdown of programs, cues, and descriptions of the supports.